Great news regarding vaping legislation came recently as a House panel is working towards getting electronic cigarettes, and all related products, exempt from the new FDA regulations that have been threatening the industry since the Obama administration.

A couple of weeks ago legislation was approved by the Appropriations Committee, (which is Republican-controlled) aiming to stop the FDA from enforcing the necessity of retroactive safety (read excessively costly) reviews of vaping products that are currently available for sale. This is quite monumental, as the fate of the industry has remained in question for quite some time as regulations loomed, and legislation was doing nothing to protect the millions of vapers, and thousands of small business owners slated to be gravely affected by these regulations that were enacted before the vape industry truly came to be. The FDA regulations would have made staying in business nearly impossible for many small companies, without solid scientific reasoning to back the effort.

Vapor products offer an excellent alternative to traditional smoking, and millions of smokers have opted to switch in an effort to halt their tobacco intake. Vaping has been studied quite meticulously over the past several years, and a wide array of studies have found e-cigarettes to be safe, effective, and not a detriment to air quality. While many reports show that vapor smoking continues to rise in popularity year by year, smoking rates are, incidentally, on the decline. So while the FDA may cite vaping as a threat to public health, on the false premise of stating that vaping will cause the youth to adopt smoking, the proof lies in the data showing quite the opposite being reality.

According to Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Ga, who has been influential in the revised plan: “E-vapor products are 95 percent less harmful than combustible cigarettes. I want to help people in our country, America, to cycle off of cigarettes.” Despite the fact that the majority of panel Democrats are against vaping products because they claim they target children, the vast majority of vapor companies in existence work incessantly to market their items exclusively to adult vapers, along with adhering to other standards designed to keep their products out of the hands of the underaged. This industry was founded on offering an alternative to smokers looking for alternatives to traditional smoking; not providing a means to get children hooked on tobacco.

So the great news out of DC regarding the vapor industry has been immensely positive, and we are overjoyed at the prospect of common sense regulations that take into account reality. We are grateful for all the individuals in legislation and our government who are working tirelessly to keep this industry thriving, fighting for what America as a whole stands for – freedom and freewill. We look forward to the future of where these regulations will ultimately lead, and we are continuously positive that they will be done in the best interest of all involved within the vape industry.